Shannon's Presentations

Here is a short list of some of the workshops and lectures Shannon has presented recently.  If something on the “menu” interests you, email us at newteacherhelp@yahoo.com so that we can schedule Shannon to speak to your new teachers!

*How to Survive Your First Year of Teaching - Focuses on one aspect of survival...positive communications with parents.  "Trigger Words" are discussed (words that put parents on the defensive), and alternatives are given so that parents remain "on your side" instead of becoming agitated with you.

*Using "Lines of Communication" to Increase Student Achievement - Students thrive on a lack of communication (or miscommunication) between the adults in their lives.  Some may happily feed

miscommunication to both school and home to distract adults from the fact that they are not taking care of their business at school.  Shannon shows teachers how to establish and maintain lines of communication with other teachers in their building, and with parents (even parents who do NOT want to communicate with you).

*Classroom Discipline - Shannon shows teachers how to construct and implement a discipline plan to maintain "fairness" in their class, and eliminate emotion from the disciplinary process.

*Why You Should Integrate Technology Into Your Lessons (and how to do it) - Shannon shows teachers how other countries in the world are embracing technology, while all Americans are doing is texting, IM'ing, Twittering, and gossiping on MySpace and Facebook.  Mr. Holden shows how teacher websites (when properly maintained and updated) can make all the difference in the world.

*Diagnosing What's Wrong...And What To Do About It - Shannon shows teachers how to figure out "what's wrong" with individual students, and interventions they can use to try to alleviate the problem(s).  We address low motivation, behavioral/mental disorders, lethargy, attention issues, not turing in homework, test anxiety, poor diet, and other issues.

*Building a Positive Image in Your New School - Shannon tells teachers how to enter a school and become a leader by becoming an "expert" in a particular area, and building positive relationships with students, administration, custodians, parents, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and other teachers

*Preparing Your Students for the State Test – Mr. Holden walks teachers through the entire process, from writing common assessments and using "item analysis" to identify skill deficits, to grouping students based on need.  The unpopular practice of "abandoning" students that have no chance of passing in order to work with students who are on the borderline between passing/failing will be discussed.  Grade-Level Expectations and district benchmarks (and how to find them) is another important topic that we examine.

*Avoiding Litigation - New teachers do not know all of the potential pitfalls they should avoid.  Shannon navigates them through the legal minefield, examining the topics of:  Special Ed., 504 Plans, FERPA,

being a "Mandated Reporter", confiscations, searches, and maintaining appropriate relationships with students and other staff members.

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Do you need a sample of Mr. Holden's work?

Shannon explaining why you should download his FREE ebook:  "Why Do We Have To Go To School?"

Presentation to student teachers at Missouri State University on April 21st, 2010

More of the same presentation at MSU

Let Shannon put his 19 years of experience to work for you!